>>> WELCOME BACK TO "KASIE D.C." WE’RE REMEMBERING THE REMARKABLE
LIFE OF SENATOR JOHN McCAIN WHO
DIED AT THE AGE OF 81 AFTER
BATTLING BRAIN CANCER.
REPUBLICAN BEN SASS SAID, "OUR
NATION ACHES FOR TRUTH TELLERS.
THIS MAN WILL BE GREATLY
MISSED."
MISSED." SENATOR McCAIN’S STORY IS THE
AMERICAN STORY.
AMERICAN STORY. HE ONCE WROTE, "I’M THE SON AND
THE GRANDSON OF ADMIRALS.
THAT’S THE FIRST LINE OF MY
BIOGRAPHY."
BIOGRAPHY." THAT’S A FACT THAT HIS CAPTORS
IN VIETNAM TRIED TO USE AGAINST
HIM.
HIM. McCAIN REFUSED TO LET THEM AND
FOUND HIMSELF USING TAPS ON THE
WALLS TO COMMUNICATE WITH OTHER
PRISONERS OF WAR FROM HIS PRISON
CELL.
CELL. HE RETURNED HOME AFTER 5 1/2
YEARS AND SPENT DECADES IN
PUBLIC LIFE.
PUBLIC LIFE. CHIEFLY IN HIS BELOVED UNITED
STATES SENATE.
STATES SENATE. IN THE END, HE NEVER BECAME
PRESIDENT.
PRESIDENT. LOSING TO GEORGE W. BUSH AND
LATER BARACK OBAMA.
AND HE RESISTED A CHANGING OF
THE GUARD IN POLITICS OFTEN AT
ODDS WITH PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP
AND THE TWO SHARED A LITTLE MORE
IN COMMON THAN THEIR POLITICAL
PARTY.
PARTY. AND, YET, McCAIN DID NOT YIELD.
>> MOST WONDROUS LAND ON EARTH,
INDEED.
INDEED. I’VE HAD THE GOOD FORTUNE TO
SPEND 60 YEARS IN SERVICE TO
THIS WONDROUS LAND.
TO FEAR THE WORLD WE HAVE
ORGANIZED AND LED THE THREE
QUARTERS OF A CENTURY, TO BOOPD
THE IDEALS WE ADVANCED AROUND
THE GLOBE, TO RE FUSE THE
OBLIGATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL
LEADERSHIP AND DUTY TO REMAIN
THE LAST BEST HOPE OF EARTH, FOR
THE SAME OF SOME HALF-BAKED
SPURIOUS NATIONALIST COOKED UP
BY PEOPLE WHO WOULD RATHER FIND
SCAPEGOATS THAN SOLVE PROBLEMS.
[ APPLAUSE ]
IS AS UNPATRIOTIC AS AN ATTACHMENT TO ANY OTHER TIRED
DOGMA OF THE PAST THAT AMERICANS
CONSIGNED TO THE ASH HEAP OF
HISTORY.
HISTORY. .
. >> REMARKABLE.
>> REMARKABLE. HE WAS KNOWN BY HIS COLLEAGUES
IN THE SENATE AS A MAN UNAFRAID
TO REACH ACROSS THE AISLE.
AND UNAFRAID OF BUCKING HIS OWN
PARTY FOR WHAT HE THOUGHT WAS
THE GOOD OF THE COUNTRY.
ONE OF HIS COLLEAGUES,
DEMOCRATIC SENATOR FROM
MINNESOTA AMY KLOBUCHAR, JOINS
ME NOW FROM MINNEAPOLIS.
SENATOR KLOBUCHAR, IT’S GOOD TO
SEE YOU ON THIS VERY SOMBER
WEEKEND.
WEEKEND. BUT WE’VE BEEN REMEMBERING
SENATOR McCAIN HERE TONIGHT FOR,
OF COURSE, THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS
THAT HE BROUGHT, BUT ALSO FOR
THE MAN THAT HE WAS.
I KNOW YOU SPENT QUITE A BIT OF
TIME TRAVELING WITH HIM.
THERE WAS A NEW YEAR’S EVE
INCIDENT IN THE BALTICS, I’M
TOLD, AMONG OTHER THINGS.
WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT HIM?
>> WELL, KASIE, I LOVED HOW YOU
CAPTURED HIS SENSE OF HUMOR AND
HOW FOR HIM, JABBING AT YOU A
BIT IN GOOD HUMOR, GOOD HUMOR,
WAS A COMPLIMENT.
THERE’S NOTHING BETTER WHEN
YOU’RE A DEMOCRAT AND GOT A CALL
FROM JOHN McCAIN WHICH I DID
SEVERAL TIMES WHERE HE’D SAY I
JUST SAW YOU ON SUNDAY MORNING
DEFENDING IMMIGRATION.
DEFENDING IMMIGRATION. HE GOES, PRETTY GOOD FOR A
COMMUNIST.
COMMUNIST. THAT WAS A COMPLIMENT.
HE WAS SOMEONE THAT JUST HAD A
JOY ABOUT HIS WORK AND, YES, AS
YOU KNOW, HE COULD GET CRABBY,
HE COULD GET INTENSE, BUT HE HAD
A MISSION AND THAT MISSION, I
WAS REMINDED OF THE LAST TIME I
SAW HIM WHEN MY HUSBAND AND I
WENT TO THE RANCH TO SEE HIM AND
CINDY, AND HE WAS FRAIL, BUT
STILL SHOWED THAT TRUE GRIT AS
HE TALKED ABOUT THE ISSUES OF
THE DAY.
THE DAY. BUT HE POINTED TO A LINE FROM
ONE OF HIS BOOKS WHERE HE SAID
NOTHING IN LIFE IS MORE
LIBERATING THAN FIGHTING FOR A
CAUSE GREATER THAN YOURSELF.
THAT’S WHAT DEFINED HIS LIFE,
LETTING PRISONERS OF WAR BE
RELEASED BEFORE HIM.
I STOOD WITH HIM IN FRONT OF THE
CELL IN VIETNAM AND SAW HOW
SMALL THE PLACE WAS WHERE HE WAS
TORTURED.
TORTURED. WHETHER IT WAS WORKING THE
SENATE AS YOU POINT OUT BUCKING
HIS PARTY ON EVERYTHING FROM
IMMIGRATION, TO BEING AGAINST
TORTURE OR WHETHER IT WAS HIS
DECISION IN A SOLITARY MOMENT IN
MINNESOTA AT THAT RALLY WHEN
THAT WOMAN QUESTIONED BARACK
OBAMA’S PATRIOTISM AND HE LOOKED
AT HER IN A VERY POLITE WAY AND
SAID, MA’AM, NO, YOU’RE WRONG,
MA’AM.
MA’AM. HE WAS A FAMILY MAN.
HE WAS A DECENT -- HE IS A
DECENT PERSON.
DECENT PERSON. THAT’S WHAT HE SAID.
AND THOSE ARE DECISIONS, SOME
WERE MADE OVER TIME, BUT SOME
WERE MADE IN THE MOMENT AND THAT
WAS JOHN McCAIN.
>> REALLY DEMONSTRATED THE
INSTINCTS THAT HE HAD IN THAT
MOMENT.
MOMENT. HE ALSO WAS KNOWN AS BEING A
MENTOR TO OTHER SENATORS.
HE WAS SOMEBODY WHO CARED DEEPLY
ABOUT THE INSTITUTION AND IT
SOUNDS AS THOUGH HE PLAYED THAT
ROLE FOR YOU.
>> HE DID.
AND I’M SURE YOU CAN THINK OF
PEOPLE IN YOUR LOVE, MEN WHO
CAME BEFORE YOU AND HELPED YOU
OUT AND INTRODUCED YOU AROUND.
WELL, THAT’S WHAT HE DID TO SO
MANY SENATORS AND ESPECIALLY
WOMEN SENATORS ON THE WORLD
STAGE.
STAGE. AND AT TIMES WHEN WE WOULD BE AT
MEETINGS WITH ALL-MALE LEADERS,
ESPECIALLY IN ASIA, AND IT WAS
LINDSEY AND ME AND JOHN McCAIN
AND OF COURSE JOHN McCAIN WOULD
START.
START. HE WAS THE HEAD OF THE
DELEGATION.
DELEGATION. THEN THEY’D ALL TURN TO LOOK AT
LINDSEY GRAHAM.
LINDSEY GRAHAM. EVERY SINGLE TIME JOHN McCAIN
WOULD LOOK AT THEM AND SAY, I’M
SORRY, SENATOR KLOBUCHAR IS A
DEMOCRATIC LEAD OF THIS
DELEGATION.
DELEGATION. SHE WILL GO NEXT.
AND HE WAS IN THAT MOMENT
TELLING THEM, NO, THIS WOMAN IS
SOMEONE TO LISTEN TO.
AND I CAN’T TELL YOU HOW MANY
OTHER WOMEN, DEMOCRATS AND
REPUBLICANS, HAVE TOLD ME
SIMILAR STORIES AND PART OF IT
MAY BE THAT HE SPENT HIS LIFE
SURROUNDED BY POWERFUL WOMEN
FROM HIS MOTHER, WHO IS STILL
ALIVE, TO CINDY McCAIN WHO’S AN
INCREDIBLY STRONG PERSON, TO
MEGHAN AND THE REST OF THE
FAMILY AND MAY HAVE SCULPTED WHO
HE WAS IN THOSE MOMENTS IN THE
SENATE.
SENATE. >> ROBERTA McCAIN, HIS MOTHER,
106 YEARS OLD, REALLY, REALLY
REMARKABLE.
REMARKABLE. CHUCK SCHUMER, YOUR DEMOCRATIC
LEADER, HAS PROPOSED RENAMING
THE RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE
BUILDING FOR SENATOR McCAIN.
IS THAT SOMETHING YOU WOULD
SUPPORT?
SUPPORT? >> OF COURSE.
I THINK IT IS A VERY SMART IDEA.
IT’S A PLACE, AS DWROUNYOU KNOW,
KASIERSING JK
KASIERSING JK KASIERS, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT
WALKING THE MARBLE FLOORS, IT’S
WHERE HE WORKED FOR YEARS AND
ALSO EMBODIES THE TRADITIONS OF
THE SENATE IN THAT IT’S THE
OLDEST SENATE OFFICE BUILDING
AND HE WAS A STUDENT OF HISTORY.
EVERY TRIP THAT I WENT WITH HIM
ON, H HE WAS CONSTANTLY READING
BOOKS.
BOOKS. WORLD WAR II BOOKS.
TAKING THOSE LESSONS OF HISTORY
WHICH YOU HEARD IN THAT TALK HE
GAVE ON HALF-BAKED NATIONALISM
NOT SO LONG AGO.
AND BRINGING THEM TO THE
PRESENT.
PRESENT. UNDERSTANDING WHAT THAT THREAT
OF RUSSIA REALLY MEANT.
AND IF I LEARNED ANYTHING FROM
HIM ON FOREIGN POLICY, IT WAS
THAT THE LESSONS OF HISTORY
MATTER.
MATTER. AND THAT AMERICA IS AT ITS
STRONGEST WHEN WE ARE A BEACON
FOR DEMOCRACIES AROUND THE WORLD
AND THAT WE SHOULDN’T SHIRK FROM
THAT DUTY.
THAT DUTY. >> SENATOR AMY KLOBUCHAR, THANK
YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING ON
TONIGHT, SHARING YOUR THOUGHTS
AND REFLECTIONS.
AND REFLECTIONS. >> THANK YOU.
THANK YOU FOR CAPTURING SENATOR
McCAIN WITH THAT MOMENT WHERE HE
WAS TEASING YOU ABOUT YOUR ROLE
AS A JOURNALIST.
>> ALWAYS.
>> ALWAYS. >> HE DID THAT SO WELL.
>> HE DID.
AND WE REALLY MISS HIM IN THE
HALLS OF THE HILL.
AS I KNOW YOU KNOW.
SO, THANK YOU.
>>> I WANT TO NOW WELCOME IN MY
PANEL TONIGHT.
PANEL TONIGHT. SENIOR WRITER FOR POLITICO,
CO-AUTHOR OF THE POLITICAL
PLAYBOOK, JAKE SHERMAN.
REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST AND
DIRECTOR OF MEDIA AFFAIRS FOR
JOHN McCAIN’S 2008 CAMPAIGN,
KEVIN McLAUGHLIN.
KEVIN McLAUGHLIN. POLITICAL COLUMNCOLUMNIST, KAREN
TUMULTY.
TUMULTY. AND MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST MIKE
MURPHY.
MURPHY. THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE
TONIGHT.
TONIGHT. I WANT, FIRST, KAREN HAS WRITTEN
A DEFINITIVE OBITUARY OF SENATOR
McCAIN.
McCAIN. KAREN, YOU WRITE IN THE
"WASHINGTON POST," "WHEN HE
ACTED LIKE AN ORDINARY
POLITICIAN, TRIMMING PRINCIPLES
IN THE CAUSE OF AMBITION AND
EXPERIENCE, IT WAS ALL THE MORE
JARRING BECAUSE OF THE STANDARD
HE HAD SET.
IN THE YEARS THAT FOLLOWED, A
QUESTION OFTEN ASKED WAS WHICH
IS THE REAL JOHN McCAIN?"
SO WHICH ONE IS IT?
>> WELL, THERE REALLY WAS --
JOHN McCAIN HAD THIS CODE OF
HONOR THAT I THINK ON THE ONE
HAND BOTH DEFINED HIM, BUT I
THINK IT WAS ALSO A BURDEN.
I THINK IT ALSO HAUNTED HIM
BECAUSE WHEN HE FELL SHORT OF
HIS OWN STANDARDS, HE WAS IN
TORMENT.
TORMENT. YOU ASK WHAT WAS THE WORST
MOMENT WHEN HE WAS A PRISONER OF
WAR, IT WASN’T BEING TORTURED.
IT WASN’T ALL THOSE YEARS OF
SOLITARY CONFINEMENT.
SOLITARY CONFINEMENT. IT WAS -- IT WAS WHEN AFTER
HAVING HIS ARMS REBROKEN, HE WAS
FORCED TO SIGN A SORT OF STILTED
CONFESSION.
CONFESSION. SO, AGAIN, YOU DON’T SEE THAT
SORT OF KIND OF INTERNAL, YOU
KNOW, AN INTERNAL CODE OF HONOR
IN THAT MANY POLITICIANS.
SO, YES, HE WAS BOTH -- HE WAS
BOTH OF THOSE JOHN McCAINS.
HE WAS THE JOHN McCAIN WHO
ASPIRED PERFECTION AND HE’S THE
JOHN McCAIN WHO SOMETIMES FELL
SHORT.
SHORT. >> MIKE MURPHY, PICK UP ON THAT
POINT.
POINT. YOU’RE SOMEBODY WHO WORKED WITH
McCAIN IN 2000 ON THAT SORT OF
IMPROBABLE RUN THAT HE MADE
AGAINST GEORGE W. BUSH WHEN H HE
REALLY EARNED FOR ALL OF THE
COUNTRY THAT NICKNAME OF
MAVERICK.
MAVERICK. >> YEAH.
>> YEAH. WELL, HE -- HE WAS A RASCAL.
HE -- HE WAS DRIVEN BY HONOR.
HIS ENTIRE FOCUS WAS SERVING
WITH HONOR.
WITH HONOR. BUT HE WAS ALSO HUMAN AND HE
KNEW HIS FLAWS AND HE WAS VERY
HARD ON HIMSELF.
BECAUSE HE WAS A -- YOU KNOW, A
FLAWED PERSON LIKE ALL OF US.
SO, AND HE WAS IN THE POLITICAL
WORLD WHERE YOU SPEND HALF YOUR
TIME TRYING TO NAVIGATE
MINDFIELDS WITH HONOR AND THE
OTHER HALF OF YOUR TIME
SUFFERING FOOLS WHICH IT TOOK
HIM SOME PATIENCE TO DO.
SO IT WAS A LOT OF FUN.
>> I’M NOT SURE HE ACTUALLY HAD
THE PATIENCE.
THE PATIENCE. I DON’T KNOW THAT --
>> I THINK HE HAD PRETTY
REMARKABLE PATIENCE.
REMARKABLE PATIENCE. I WAS AROUND A LOT OF THE FOOLS
HE WAS SUFFERING AND IT WAS
PRETTY REMARKABLE IN 2000.
I THINK THE WHOLE TEMPER THING’S
OVERRATED.
OVERRATED. I THINK PEOPLE MISS IT WHICH IS
McCAIN -- WHAT McCAIN NEVER
LIKED IN LIFE, EXCUSE ME,
WERE -- HIS FAVORITE WORD,
JOKING, HE DIDN’T MEAN IT, DID
SOMETIMES BEHIND CLOSED DOORS,
JERKS AND BULLIES.
WHEN HE SAW SOMEBODY WITH POWER
BULLYING DOWN, HE HAD A DISLIKE
OF IT.
OF IT. THERE’S A LOT OF THAT
FOOLISHNESS IN POLITICS BUT
FUNDAMENTALLY WHAT HE TRIED TO
DO AND I THOUGHT WAS VERY SACK
SUCCESSSACK
SUCCESSSACK SUCCESSFUL IN DOING THROUGH HIS
CAREER WAS PUT HIS OWN COMPASS
FIRST AND THE HELL WITH IT IF
THERE WAS POLITICAL TROUBLE.
HE ALSO LOVED TO FIGHT SO HE WAS
ABLE TO BRING THOSE TWO THINGS
TOGETHER.
TOGETHER. BUT HE WAS VERY UNIQUE.
AND NOBODY WAS MORE FUN TO WORK
WITH PARTICULARLY IN 2000 IN A
LONG SHOT CAMPAIGN, WHERE HE HAD
NOTHING TO LOSE AND IT WAS LIKE
A BANK HEIST.
HE WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF IT AND
HE HAD A TERRIFIC TIME BECAUSE
HE WAS ALLOWEDED TO ED TOED TO B
SAW IT RESONATED IN THE COUNTRY
IN POLITICS.
IN POLITICS. >> SO McCAIN CAME UP SHORT TWICE
IN HIS BIDS FOR PRESIDENT.
HE LOST THE 2000 PRIMARY.
WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT.
TO GEORGE W. BUSH.
AND EIGHT YEARS LATER, OF
COURSE, THE GENERAL ELECTION TO
BARACK OBAMA.
BARACK OBAMA. AND WITH THE CAMPAIGN REACHING
ITS FEVER PITCH IN OCTOBER OF
2008, McCAIN, OF COURSE, CAN SEE
THE WRITING ON THE WALL.
>> I COME HERE TONIGHT TO THE AL
SMITH DINNER KNOWING I’M THE
UNDERDOG IN THESE FINAL WEEKS,
BUT IF YOU KNOW WHERE TO LOOK,
THERE’S SIGNS OF HOPE.
THERE’S SIGNS OF HOPE.
EVEN IN THE MOST UNEXPECTED
PLACES.
PLACES. EVEN IN THIS ROOM FULL OF PROUD
MANHATTAN DEMOCRATS.
MANHATTAN DEMOCRATS. I CAN’T -- I CAN’T SHAKE THAT
FEELING THAT SOME PEOPLE HERE
ARE PULLING FOR ME.
I’M DELIGHTED TO SEE YOU HERE
TONIGHT, HILLARY.
TONIGHT, HILLARY. [ APPLAUSE ]
I DON’T WANT IT GETTING OUT OF THIS ROOM, BUT MY OPPONENT IS AN
IMPRESSIVE FELLOW IN MANY WAYS.
POLITICAL OPPONENTS CAN HAVE A
LITTLE TROUBLE SEEING THE BEST
IN EACH OTHER.
BUT I’VE HAD A FEW GLIMPSES OF
THIS MAN AT HIS BEST.
AND I ADMIRE HIS GREAT SKILL,
ENERGY, AND DETERMINATION.
IT’S NOT FOR NOTHING THAT HE’S
INSPIRED SO MANY FOLKS IN HIS
OWN PARTY AND BEYOND.
SENATOR OBAMA TALKS ABOUT MAKING
H HISTORY, AND HE’S MADE QUITE A
BIT OF IT ALREADY.
THERE WAS A TIME WHEN THE MERE
INVITATION OF AN
AFRICAN-AMERICAN CITIZEN TO DINE
AT THE WHITE HOUSE WAS TAKEN AS
AN OUTRAGE AND AN INSULT IN MANY
QUARTERS.
QUARTERS. TODAY, HE’S A WORLD AWAY FROM
THE CRUEL AND PRIDEFUL BIGOTRY
OF THAT TIME, AND GOOD RIDDANCE.
I CAN’T WISH MY OPPONENT LUCK,
BUT I DO WISH HIM WELL.
[ APPLAUSE ] >> KEVIN McLAUGHLIN, WHERE --
WHERE IS THAT IN OUR POLITICS
TODAY?
TODAY? WHERE IS IT?
WE WATCHED HOW REPUBLICANS
REACTED AFTER CHARLOTTESVILLE.
IT’S SO FAR.
>> YEAH.
>> YEAH. >> FROM WHAT JOHN McCAIN DID
RIGHT THERE.
RIGHT THERE. >> YEAH.
>> YEAH. YOU KNOW, I THINK IT’S BEEN A
LONG SLOG TO GET TO WHERE WE ARE
RIGHT NOW.
RIGHT NOW. SEEING HIM TALK AND THINK ABOUT
2008, I WAS WITH THE McCAIN
CAMPAIGN IN THE 2007 PRIMARY AND
IT WAS BRUTAL, I WAS IN CHARGE
OF RADIO AND TV, WHEN I TALKED
TO THE RIGHT WINGERS OF THE
WHOLE THING, JOHN McCAIN WAS THE
McCAIN/KENNEDY IMMIGRATION BILL
AND THE SURGE IN IRAQ AND WOULD
GET CRUSHED EVERY DAY.
>> THERE’S EVEN CONSPIRACY
THEORIES THAT KAREN WAS TALKING
ABOUT.
ABOUT. THEY CALL HIM A TRAITOR.
>> EVERY DAY WE GET TO WORK AT
6:00, STAND AT THE DESK AND HOPE
TO GOD WE GET THROUGH THE DAY,
COME OUT AND EVERYTHING WOULD BE
OKAY.
OKAY. McCAIN HAD THIS ABILITY IN THE
MILITARY, I THINK THEY HAVE A
SAYING, IT’S LIKE DO THE HARD
RIGHT AS OPPOSED TO THE EASY
WRONG AND TOTALLY EMBODYIED HIM.
HE CAME BACK FROM IRAQ WHEN HE
MET THE SOLDIER WHO GOT SHOT
THROUGH THE EYE WHO GRABBED HIM
BY THE ARM.
AND WHISPERED IN HIS EAR, I’M
PULLING FOR YOU.
HE CAME RIGHT IN THE CAMPAIGN
OFFICE AND WAS JUST, LIKE, A
MESS.
MESS. HE WAS OFF THE PLANE AND HE WAS
CRYING.
CRYING. AND EVERYONE WAS CRYING.
AND IT MADE IT SO MUCH BIGGER
AND SO MUCH EASIER TO WORK IN
THOSE TERRIBLE DAYS.
>> YEAH.
>> YEAH. JAKE SHERMAN, ON CAPITOL HILL,
IT’S CLEAR THAT PEOPLE WHO HAVE
SPENT A LOT OF TIME UP THERE,
YOU KNOW, REALLY LOVED HIM.
AND REPUBLICANS LOVED HIM.
THIS PRESIDENT, THOUGH, NOT SO
MUCH.
MUCH. >> TO.
>> TO. DEFINITELY NOT.
DEFINITELY NOT. AND I THINK PART OF IT, I’M
NOT -- IT’S TOUGH TO PUT ANYBODY
ON THE PSYCHIATRIC COUCH, BUT
JOHN McCAIN, I DON’T THINK
THERE’S ANYBODY IN THE SENATE OR
IN THE HOUSE WHO COULD GO OUT
INTO THE WORLD AND MEET WITH
WORLD LEADERS AND HAVE THE
GRAVITAS THAT McCAIN HAS.
HE’S ALMOST LIKE SEEN AS A HEAD
OF STATE.
OF STATE. >> YEAH.
>> YEAH. >> WHEN HE’S OUT THERE IN THE
WORLD.
WORLD. OUT THERE ON CONGRESSIONAL
DELEGATIONS MEETING WITH PEOPLE,
LEADERS AROUND THE WORLD.
HE COMMANDS THAT KIND OF
RESPECT.
RESPECT. AND THINKING THROUGH THE ELECTED
OFFICIALS THAT WE HAVE NOW,
THERE’S REALLY NOBODY ELSE LIKE
THAT, BUT I THINK THE PRESIDENT
HAS HAD A LONG DISTASTE FOR JOHN
McCAIN FOR WHATEVER REASON, IN
1999 IN AN INTERVIEW I THINK
WITH DAN RATHER ON "60 MINUTES"
BROUGHT UP THAT THE IDEA THAT HE
WAS CAPTURED.
WAS CAPTURED. SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT’S BEEN
GOING ON FOR DECADES.
RIGHT?
RIGHT? SO IT’S NOT A NEW THING.
>> AND I’M GLAD YOU MAKE THAT
POINT BECAUSE THE "WASHINGTON
POST" IS REPORTING TONIGHT THAT
PRESIDENT TRUMP SQUASHED PLANS
FOR A WHITE HOUSE STATEMENT
PRAISING THE LIFE AND HEROISM OF
SENATOR JOHN McCAIN.
CURRENT AND FORMER WHITE HOUSE
AIDES TELL THE "POST" THAT THE
STATEMENT WAS DRAFTED BEFORE
McCAIN’S DEATH AND IT WAS READY
FOR THE PRESIDENT TO SIGN OFF ON
IT.
IT. BUT UPON REVIEW, THE PRESIDENT
REPORTEDLY DECIDED HE WOULD
RATHER POST A BRIEF TWEET
INSTEAD.
INSTEAD. THAT READ, "MY DEEPEST
SYMPATHIES AND RESPECT GO OUT TO
THE FAMILY OF SENATOR JOHN
McCAIN.
McCAIN. OUR HEARTS AND PRAYERS ARE WITH
YOU."
YOU." THE POST IS REPORTING AS WELL
YOUR COLLEAGUES, KAREN, THAT
THIS WHITE HOUSE STATEMENT WOULD
HAVE CALLED HIM A HERO, PRAISED
HIS MILITARY SERVICE AND HIS
PRESIDENT ELECTED NOT TO DO
THAT.
THAT. >> IT’S SORT OF SMALL ON THE
PRESIDENT’S PART.
PRESIDENT’S PART. IT’S REMINISCENT OF HIM GOING
AND SIGNING THE DEFENSE
AUTHORIZATION BILL A COUPLE
WEEKS AGO WHICH IS NAMED FOR
JOHN McCAIN.
JOHN McCAIN. AND NOT MENTIONING JOHN McCAIN’S
NAME.
NAME. BECAUSE IT DOES APPEAR THAT WITH
DONALD TRUMP, EVERYTHING IS
ABOUT DONALD TRUMP.
AND SO HE HAS A FEUD GOING WITH
HIM AND HE WILL NOT LET GO OF
IT.
IT. HE WILL NOT LOOK AT JOHN McCAIN
IN THE LARGER LENS OF HIS
SERVICE TO THIS COUNTRY WHICH
WAS INCREDIBLE.
WAS INCREDIBLE. AND LASTED FOR MANY DECADES.
>> I THINK IT’S IMPORTANT TO
ALSO NOTE, IF YOU LOOK AT GEORGE
W. BUSH IS GOING TO EULOGIZE
JOHN McCAIN.
JOHN McCAIN. THEY HAD ONE OF THE NASTIEST
PRIMARY NTSPRY
PRIMARY NTSPRY PRIMARIES IN RECENT PRESIDENTIAL
HISTORY.
HISTORY. IT’S POSSIBLE TO DISAGREE WITH
SOMEBODY POLITICALLY --
>> THERE WAS VERY PERSONAL STUFF
IN THE 2000 CAMPAIGN AROUND
SENATOR McCAIN’S DAUGHTER AND
YET HE STILL, OF COURSE,
EXTENDING FORGIVENESS AND ASKED,
WE’VE BEEN REPORTING, THAT